Generator 25 hr OCI, really?

[Sierra048]

The Briggs & Stratton generators made in the early 2000's seemed to have bad crank shaft seals that caused severe to moderate oil loss, causing a lot of destroyed generators during Sandy. I worked at Lowe's then and saw lots of destroyed or seriously leaking Briggs generators returned for this reason. You have to pull the generator head off the crank shaft to replace the seal. I bought my Briggs Storm Responder 5500W at the end of Sandy. It developed the crank shaft leak, but not too seriously. I was advised by a fellow Bob member to try Valvoline Synthetic 10W-30 HM with Max Life. It actually reduced the leakage to a minor damp spot on the cardboard under the generator, which is livable versus trying to pull the gen head off the crank shaft.

After seeing all the oil on the ground, and after getting got an idea where it was coming from, I wasn't sure if it was a seal or a gasket. It was a PITA to get to it and verify.

Man if I put that much effort into a free generator already I would have just RTV'd it. Mine doesn't even have a starter. Let it sit in your garage until you can fix it - it might be good to have a spare. The predators are alright from what I heard but I don't really know how long they last.

Also I guess you are right to a point, gens have become so cheap they are pretty much commodities now. $600-$800 you can get a decent one that will last you a while if you take care of it. But if you are in a place that loses power or has storms you need one. Lose $1000 worth of groceries one time and you already bought paid for one.

I thought of that. I decided it just wasn't worth anymore of my time trying to get it back together only for it not to run afterward.

 

[SC Maintenance]

If it has a oil pump and filter that seems excessive. How much does the sump hold?

I have a WEN inverter generator 212cc which is a clone of the old Honda gen's. It says every 25 hours.

I found a scan on the www of an old Honda manual of the one this is copied from. It says first change in 20 hours and 100 hours thereafter? I have no idea how these Chinese come up with the OCI. I doubt any of them test anything. Maybe just set a very high OCI and they could maybe deny warranty if they wanted or whatever? No idea.

 

[Ride_Red]

Both of my Honda generators spec an early oil change at 20hrs and then 100hrs thereafter.

I changed oil early and often over the first 50hrs of use. Now I change it every few years, depending on use. I haven't had to use them for an extended period yet (knock on wood). I also added a magnetic dipstick and it actually does catch some metal on the magnet between oil changes.

I say, if the oil still looks good after 25 hrs, run it longer. Oil is not going to "wear out" in 25 hrs. Most likely it will get dirty and nasty. The biggest thing is to keep it full.

 

[TazzySpazzy]

My generator with an 18hp Briggs V-Twin specs every 50hrs but the manuals make no mention of synthetic or dino.

 

[oil pan 4]

I bought a brand new large portable generator from Northern Tool a few years ago. With the recent hurricaine's in Florida I finally got to use it.
I would run it when I woke up until about 1pm. Then back on at around 6pm until midnight. After two days I figured I would look up the OCI and was shocked it said 25 hours.
For those who run it non stop are we really going to change it once a day?
I changed the oil at 35hrs and at 71 hours our power was restored. Before it goes back in storage I will obviously change it again but wow, 25 hours, really? 2.6 quart capacity using Rotella and a Motorcraft fl400s. It has a Ducar V-Twin, carbureated, oil cooled, electric start 999cc.

So my question is, why such a short OCI? Personally I would think of something like 50 or 100hrs.

If it's got no oil filter usually you change the oil around 20 to 25hr. Those greater than 30 micron particles building up in the oil with no filter really do a number on engine internals.
If it's got an oil filter usually it's 25hr for break in, then 50 to up to 300hrs for oci.
But I think 300hrs is a bit optimistic and is an attempt to sell OEM labled oil, OEM labeled oil filters and more engines.

 

[1978elcamino]

I looked again, the manual says 25hrs. Its a great big generator 27000 / 18000 watt with an oil filter and oil cooler too. I used a Motorcraft FL400s because it was what I had in the garage and Rotella 15w 40.
When I bought it the generator ran for 30 minutes for an initial break in, then oil changed and sat for almost 4 years with brand new oil.
I used it for 12 hours during hurricaine Helena and 2 weeks later for Milton for a total of 38 hours, then changed the oil. After that oil change it ran until power was restored at a total of 71 hours run time.
This weekend, it will get fresh oil and filter and also spark plugs. All the fuel will be drained and put back in storage until the next storm.
This unit was a life saver because I could run the well, AC, water heater, dryer, the entire house with guests that evacuated to my home. I also ran my ice machine around the clock to give to other people so they did not loose food. In addition I ran a cord to my neighbors home to backfeed his panel.
Obviously I did not use all the high amp items all at once but one at a time.

 

[ripcord]

25 hours just seems nuts. That's like a 1500 mile oil change interval.

 

[Ducati996]

20 hour oil changes were common with the old flathead engines.
Today’s engines are run much cleaner so I would use some personal judgement oil changes.
What did the oil look like when drained??
Was it transparent, dark or black?
On the first & second oil changes you usually see metallic particles on the oil, after the second oil change it should be mostly free of metallic particles. I would then change oil based on how it looks and/or hours.

 

[1978elcamino]

The oil was so clean and clear that I had to rub my finger on the dipstick for me to tell where the oil level was in between the hash marks.

 

[oldcodger]

Manual for my Pulsar PG12000B (Ducar 457cc single cylinder) says 25 hours, but it is out of warranty so I will go with 50 hours. 25 seems way too soon. I have a comparable engine ( B&S Intek 500cc) on my lawn mower and manual says 50 hours for it.
I use Amsoil small engine oil for both.

 

[ripcord]

The oil was so clean and clear that I had to rub my finger on the dipstick for me to tell where the oil level was in between the hash marks.

Wow, there's no way I'd change it that often. I don't usually wait for the oil to get black, but that's ridiculous.

 

[oil pan 4]

Manual for my Pulsar PG12000B (Ducar 457cc single cylinder) says 25 hours, but it is out of warranty so I will go with 50 hours. 25 seems way too soon. I have a comparable engine ( B&S Intek 500cc) on my lawn mower and manual says 50 hours for it.
I use Amsoil small engine oil for both.

If I had to change the oil at 50hr I wouldn't be using amsoil.
Even Walmart oil can withstand 50hr of use.

 

[z71bill]

I can't even fine the generator you are describing.

Can you post a few details - like model of the unit.
Everything comes back to DuroMax and that engine does not have an oil filter.

What oil filter does it use?

I did see a unit that used an oil screen is that what you have or is it a spin on filter?

I am OCD about oil changes - oil is cheap. But all of my OPE units use 12-20 ounces of oil and have no filter.

2.6 quarts + filter is a game changer.

This is a manual for the DuroMax 999

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0613/1168/0689/files/XP35HPE_manual.pdf?v=1646688074

100 hours or 6 months OCI - but no filter.

 

[z71bill]

The oil was so clean and clear that I had to rub my finger on the dipstick for me to tell where the oil level was in between the hash marks.

I changed the oil in my Honda powered lawnmower yesterday.

It has been 7 months since last change but we had lots of rain and I was not just mowing more often but the grass was taller / thicker too.

I checked the oil before I mowed - then drained it.

The oil on the dipstick looked clean - really clean, I almost decided to wait until next spring because I will only be mowing the back every ~~10 days - front every ~~2 weeks.

But I had a part bottle of 10W30 Valvoline Blue that was the exact quantity I needed so I figured it was fate!

I drained the oil and it was black.

The oil on the dipstick is not a good gauge of oil color. It is always much darker after you put it in a pan.

 

[1978elcamino]

I can't even fine the generator you are describing.

Can you post a few details - like model of the unit.
Everything comes back to DuroMax and that engine does not have an oil filter.

What oil filter does it use?

I did see a unit that used an oil screen is that what you have or is it a spin on filter?

I am OCD about oil changes - oil is cheap. But all of my OPE units use 12-20 ounces of oil and have no filter.

2.6 quarts + filter is a game changer.

This is a manual for the DuroMax 999

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0613/1168/0689/files/XP35HPE_manual.pdf?v=1646688074

100 hours or 6 months OCI - but no filter.

Same Ducar engine but mine has a spin on oil filter and an oil cooler.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://assets.northerntool.com/products/999/documents/manuals/99932.pdf

 

[Rand]

i'd use a high quality oil and change it every 100hours or so.. longer if it is low loads.

a few 25-50hour changes early in its life might be a positive.

Delvac extreme 15w40 syn. would be a good choice